Sick day and comfort food

Well, I caught the cold/flu that is going around the wonderfully dreary city of Seattle :( So, I sat around all day in my sweatpants feeling bad for myself....until I decided to make some "chicken" noodle soup!! There is nothing that screams comfort food more then chicken noodle soup when you are sick. I haven't attempted it at all since becoming a vegetarian, but after a little internet search I realized that it can indeed be done!! I combined a few recipes and this is what I came up with...

Chicken tofu! noodle soup

Ingredients ~
6-8 cups vegetable broth (I used half Imagine brand no-chicken broth and half vegetable broth)
1 block (8oz, I believe) of firm tofu (or other "fake meat" product, really though it doesn't need any meat substitute if you don't want it)
1 tablespoon olive oil (enough to fill bottom of stockpot)
3 large celery stalks, diced
3 carrots, cut into cubes/circles
2-3 garlic cloves, minced or diced
2 tablespoons grated ginger
5-10 large mushrooms, sliced
1 small red onion, diced
dill
oregano
basil
paprika
parsley
salt, and pepper (all to taste)
8oz (half a box) linguini noodles

Steps ~ 
1) Cut tofu into small cubes and marinate in broth and seasoning (I used the "no-chicken" broth and the seasonings above) for 2-3 hours
2) In a large stockpot, heat olive oil on medium and add carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, garlic, and ginger. Add about 2 tablespoons of water and cover for 10 minutes.

3) While this is "steaming," heat the tofu cubes in olive oil and a little more seasoning. (This is mainly just to lock in the flavor, not to fry the tofu)

4) Add broth and spices to the stockpot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat back down to medium and add the tofu. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

5) Stir, and add the linguine noodles. Cover and heat on medium (or whatever keeps it at a rapid simmer) for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked. 

This makes about 8 big bowls, this bowl doesn't look so big in the picture, but it is one of those deep cereal bowls. Im not sure how it is going to keep, I have a feeling that the tofu and noodles are going to suck up the broth, but hopefully just adding some broth and/or water will fix that problem!

Yum!!! I am so happy that I can have "chicken" noodle soup again! :) Ok, now Im off to put myself to sleep with some Theraflu.....